Mardy (Entratas super Japon)

Will the internet forget russophobia?

Alberto Mardegan — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 07:41:02 GMT

I've often wondering what will happen when this horrific war in Europe will finally be over. I won't be discussing politics here, but what is mostly interesting to me is how (and if) all the companies who made high proclaims about not doing business with Russia will justify their getting back into the Russian market. They will probably count on the fact that the war will be long, and that people will forget what these companies' stance was. After all, the world has forget about all the companies who collaborated with the Nazi regime, so we can expect the same to happen with this war.

But I don't think that's right: if you made a mistake, you should be held accountable for it. You might be wondering what is the “mistake” I'm talking about: that's russophobia, indeed. To put it simply, and make a concrete example: if The Qt Company stops doing business with Russian companies and blocks its downloads page to Russian IP addresses because of the war, without being forced by the government to do so, but does not take similar measures against other countries who wage wars which have caused way more deaths and displacement of individuals, well, that's what I call “russophobia”. Of course, I'm aware that there's way more than that, and that the hatred for all what is Russian (including culture and sport competitions) is an even bigger issue, but in this blog post I'm especially focused on the IT world, so please forgive my semi-intentional narrow-mindness on this topic.

Now, I'm fully aware that we live in a mediatic bubble that directs our decisions in a way that is almost automatic, and I'm sure that most people working for companies who took russophobic decisions are not themselves russophobic at all (and I'm not dismissing the possibility that even the very same people who took these decisions might not be russophobic) and that these decisions were taken on impulse, because “everyone else is doing the same” and due to the media pressure that if you don't do that, you might get accused of supporting the “wrong” side of the war.

But that's not an excuse, especially for “smart” people like IT engineers (and I put the adjective between quotes for a reason), and especially after the initial heat has passed and when, after more than one year of war, we should have been exposed to different point of views and be able to evaluate the situation more rationally. It has been therefore especially stunning for me to learn that the Linux Kernel community, and hence The Linux Foundation, has recently given room to russophobic behaviours, refusing a patch coming from the Russian company Baikal (a CPU maker). For the record, the incriminated patch was not related to supporting hardware produced by this company (not that this would make the deed less serious, but at least one could have argued that there could be some spot of logic in it):

From: Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>
To: Serge Semin <Sergey.Semin@baikalelectronics.ru>
[...]

On Tue, 14 Mar 2023 01:42:24 +0300 Serge Semin wrote:
> From: Serge Semin <Sergey.Semin@baikalelectronics.ru>

We don't feel comfortable accepting patches from or relating 
to hardware produced by your organization.

Please withhold networking contributions until further notice.

(here the link to the original discussion). One week later, someone denounced this as a violation to the Code of Conduct committee (unfortunately the only link I could find to this is coming from a Russian IT forum, and any other references seem to have been removed from DuckDuckGo and Google), only to receive a reply that it was all fine.

To me this is not fine. The war will end, sooner or later, but it bothers me that we never learn from the past and repeat the same mistakes over and over. We apparently know a lot about propaganda, yet we fail to recognize it when it influences our own mind and actions. My humble contribution is the creation of a page where I list the companies who have taken russophobic actions, and, on the opposite side, companies (like Flickr and Zorin OS) who have stood out for positive messages and helpful actions. My hope is that some of the listed companies will find the courage to review their actions, and either correct their stance, or at least clarify their reasons. So, I hereby present

Denouncing russophobia

where you'll find some of the good and some of the bad companies. I'm sure I'm missing plenty of them: I just started recollecting my memories and searching online a couple of days ago. I created this as a GitHub project, because indeed I'm looking forward for contributions, to help me make the lists more complete. I need to stress that the fact that a company has announced the suspension of its business in Russia does not automatically make it russophobic: what we need to look at is the reason for that decision: companies like LEGO and Nintendo, for example, have suspended their operations citing logistic and financial reasons; no judgement involved.

Let me repeat it once more, just to make sure there are no misunderstandings: it's perfectly fine for businesses to take a stance on politics, and sometimes it might be even praiseworthy; but if a company is international, and does not apply the same reasoning to other armed conflicts, or seem to care only about certain human rights violations and not others, then it's a case of double standards which we need to be aware of, and make the company think twice about it. And that's also the reason why you won't find any Ukrainian company among the “bad” ones, because in their case the reaction is perfectly understandable and they can hardly be accused of adopting double standards (well, technically speaking, they are adopting double standards, but when you are so directly impacted I think it does not deserve a blame): if it's your house which burns, you should definitely scream about it, even if you previously have been silent about your neighbour house's burning.

I'm especially looking forward for more “good” companies, who have shown empathy towards the people affected by the war (and maybe even collected money to help them) while refraining from taking the judging role and forgetting about all the injustice and suffering that other wars have caused (including on that very same piece of land that suddenly appeared on all newspapers' front pages on February 24th, 2022). I hope that these companies can serve as an example of positive action, humanity, and love.

Photos de Japon

Alberto Mardegan — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:30:00 GMT

Le photos de mi viage in Japon es in le galleria, in le album “Japon - martio 2010”. Le data del album revela le enorme retardo del publication, e isto demonstra que io es un persona multo occupate.

Attende ancora un poco :-)

Alberto Mardegan — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:40:00 GMT

Io sape que vos attende que io actualisa le blog con le photos de mi viage in Japon. Infortunatemente io debe demandar ancora un poco de vostre patientia, perque in iste dies io ha plure altere cosas a facer, e post que le photos esseva prendite in conditiones non optimal illos require alicun elaboration.

Pro excusar me de isto, e pro distraher vos de eventual planos punitive, io vos offere le opportunitate de reviver nostre ascension al monte Tsukuba, per jocar con le tracia de nostre camminata, registrate (obviemente) con Maemo Mapper:

Si io esseva sol, io haberea completate le cammino in un tempore multo plus parve, ma mi amata e supertoto mi fratre habeva un influentia negative super mi velocitate. ;-)

Specialmente pro Andrea

Alberto Mardegan — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Post que mi fratre Andrea sempre lamenta le absentia de pluvia (e non solo) ma necuno pote vermente saper si isto es ver, io ha controlate iste matino le previsiones meteorologic pro Tokyo, e ha discoperite le veritate:

Pluvia, humiditate bassissime, tempore ideal.

Ushiku Daibutsu

Alberto Mardegan — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:00:00 GMT

Retornate del meraviliose septimana in Japon, io publica le ultime photos; illos es dedicate al Ushiku Daibutsu, un enorme statua de Budda alte 120 metros qui se trova in Ushiku, non troppo distante de Tokyo. Le monumento, completate in le 1995 e actualmente le status le plus alte in le mundo, es construite in bronzo e internemente hospita un sorta de museo con plure altares e multissime parve statuas de Budda que porta le nomine de personas qui ha volite immortalar lor nomine — probabilemente pagante un contribution considerabile. Le photos es in le album Ushiku Daibutsu; il ha etiam un sito official pro le Ushiku Daibutsu, que pare un blog: http://daibutu.net/cgi/news/index.cgi (illo es completemente in Japonese, ma le photos es in interlingua ;-) ).

Pro non transformar mi blog in un mer album photographic (e de mal qualitate), io debe adder un commento plus personal super iste vacantia in Japon. Le prime cosa a dicer es que le blog de Andrella poterea esser considerate un perfecte brochure turistic, perque illo me anticipava multissime aspectos del Japon; assi que io non me sentiva totalmente estranier — e le hospitalitate de Andrea e Loco ha juvate multo pro isto. Un prime cosa a observar (non necessarimente le plus importante) es que le lingua es un barriera plus dur que in le altere paises que io ha visitate: in Finlandia quasi totes parla fluentemente anglese, e multe personas cognosce etiam espaniol, francese o italiano; in Bulgaria le anglese non esseva particularmente popular, ma comocunque functionava, e in omne caso le bulgaro ha multe parolas de origine grec-latin (ben que isto es insufficiente pro un conversation o pro comprender lo que illes dice, il pote esser de adjuta quando on vole demandar alicun informationes); ma in Japon le lingua anglese es quasi incognite, forsan ancora plus incognite que illo es in Italia, e le lingua japonese ha quasi nihil in commun con le linguas europee. Assi que on pote imaginar qual typo de conversationes io habeva con le parentes de Loco, qui non parla italiano ni anglese. :-) Del resto, le character social del japoneses non me pare multo differente de illo del finlandeses: generalmente multo reservate, il es improbabile que illes te parla sin cognoscer te — ma un septimana non es un tempore sufficiente pro declamar iste facto con certessa; lo que es certe, es que in le trainos il es difficile establir un conversation, perque quasi totes le possibile companios de conversation es dormiente o semi-dormiente. Io invidia iste characteristica del japoneses: illes pote dormir instantaneemente, il suffice que illes decide de dormir, e illes dormi. Ubicunque. E il es impressionante que illes se evelia justo ante lor stop del traino! Isto debe esser plus que un coincidentia, ma io non saperea como explicar lo. Un ultime cosa super le japoneses, es que ille pare timide e extrememente gentil e cortese quando illes saluta o regratia. Ma isto non es un surprisa. Le panoramas del Japon es aliquanto extreme: il ha citates con palatios altissime, citates con casas non enorme ma incredibilemente ammassate le un proxime al altere, e campanias quasi deserte. Como jam le blog de Andrea ha documentate amplemente, le flora e le fauna es multo ric, specialmente de parve insectos que forsan esseva popular etiam in Italia, ma que ha disparite quasi totalmente, como le papiliones [it: farfalle].

Io non pote non scriber un linea super le toilettes, que es le pucta de diamante del technologia japonese: immediatemente quando on entra in le cameretta, on audi alicun sonos del qual io ignora le causa, ma que annuncia clarmente que le toilette ha recognoscite que un persona ha entrate, e es preste a servir le. Io non sape qual es tote le functionalitates del toilette, ma io pote testimoniar que le jecto de aqua hygienisante (cuje temperatura es controlabile per le pannello electronic) es un gadget del qual nunc io suffere le absentia: illo deberea esser installate in tote le toilettes del mundo! Ben, le photo a latere probabilemente rende le idea de quando avantiate iste technologia es, e de quanto difficile il pote esser premer le button correcte! ;-)

Io es secur que io deberea scriber multe altere cosas super le Japon, ma isto es lo que me passava per le capite in iste momentos. Non multo; preoccupante, nonne?

Un saluto del sol levante

Alberto Mardegan — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:00:00 GMT

In le ultime menses io ha essite terribilemente occupate con le renovation del appartamento; dicer que io ha removite le carta del muros e los ha repicturate non rende le idea del labor que io, con le adjuta de plure amicos, ha complite. Ma io va narrar super isto un altere vice. Nunc io es in Japon, hospite in le casa de mi fratre e Loco, in le proximitate de Tokyo. Io es impressionate per le modernitate del casa e per le cura e le detalios con que illo ha essite construite; le comparation con mi appartamento esserea tanto impare e humiliante que io prefere non pensar lo! Le photos que vos pote vider in le galleria ha essite prendite in le village (difficile definir si illo es un village, un citate, o simplemente un continuo de casas) ubi nos habita, e in Asakusa, un citate con un area turistic plen de templos. Forsan in le dies veniente io habera tempore pro describer brevemente tote le photos; pro le momento, illos es sin description (ma io es secur que vos sapera distinguer un templo de un casa).